Creole, are you actually visiting the South or looking for a chain in your area? If you are traveling I found my favorite roadside biscuits at the famous Loveless Cafe in Nashville, see their page in the "Restaurants" section of the site. The biscuits are homemade, served hot, and come with real butter and sides of their preserves. Outstanding, and don't get me started talking about their gravy........

If you are looking at chains, I also like Popeyes and, to a lesser degree, Hardees (possibly Carl's Jr in your area). The only problem is they often do not have the real butter. Good luck, Todd

Creole, I know this won't help you since it's not near Nashville, but the Moose Cafe in Asheville, NC has the biggest and best biscuits I've had in a long time. They're inexpensive, they do Southern/Country-style cooking, and they do it very well. Check out these user reviews from an interesting website that I found: http://www.mrbreakfast.com/r_display.asp?restid=528

Creole, you are in for the biscuit of your life at the Loveless, ground zero for biscuits AND gravy. Note that there has been much about the Loveless on this forum and others (see their website too). Some old timers say it is not as good as it used to be (it's good), others say it is touristy (it is, but no problem). Take it from a VERY particular biscuit eater, it is the real deal. See my thread in "Where Should I Eat"/"Illinois to South Carolina Trip Report" for details about both the Loveless and the Moose. I liked the country ham too. Enjoy!

This will be hard to find, but I enjoyed the biscuit I had at Brown's Chicken when I went to one of the few remaining Brown's Chicken outlets last month. I had no intention of eating it, but I ended up finishing the whole thing. Definitely no fake butter in there.

My mom used to make wonderful biscuits not from scratch, but from BisQuick pancake mix. They were quite good with honey. I still like BisQuick for pancakes and waffles, though we now only buy the low-fat, no trans-fat kind, which probably isn't as tasty as what I grew up with.

The kind you bake a large batch in where you can cut the biscits in square shape. Went to local restaurant supply and they did not have it, but I had no more time to look at other places yesterday. I am now loking on line.Thanks! :)

South City Kitchen in Vinings, GA have good, fluffy biscuits. While I have never eaten at this restaurant, I have heard that Flying Biscuit Cafe in Atlanta have some fine biscuits as well (including whole wheat biscuits!)

OK. Biscuits, Yummy! I'm a native Tennessean retired and living in southern New Mexico. I've enjoyed biscuits in most the places mentioned, surprised me when I read the previous posts. Here's my thought. #1. At home or traveling ( cheap motel preferably), you will do fine with a little Country Ham, butter, preserves, toaster oven, ice chest, plastic knife and a bag of Pillsbury frozen biscuits.At home(with all the conveniences of an Applachian child) I normally make a little Red Eye or skillet flour gravy. #2. You're out of Country ham. That can happen out in this part of the country..... Well,using some readily availabe breakfast sausage, whip up a batch of stick to your ribs SAUSAGE GRAVY, cover them Pillsbury biscuits(cook first) pour yourself a good cup of coffee and enjoy one of the finer life experiences!rouxdog

Best biscuits in the world are made with just three ingredients:White Lilly Self-Rising FlourLardButtermilkI make them in a "dough tray" by hand ( not rolled out and cut)and bake them in a hot ( 425 degree )oven in an old cast iron pan.WONDERFUL!

Best biscuits in the world are made with just three ingredients:White Lilly Self-Rising FlourLardButtermilkI make them in a "dough tray" by hand ( not rolled out and cut)and bake them in a hot ( 425 degree )oven in an old cast iron pan.WONDERFUL!

I AGREE!

But what is a "dough tray"? and do you know where one can purchase the large square baking biscuit pan?

My grandmother always made her biscuits with lard as well as her pie crust.Do you have a recipe for your biscuits?Thanks for the reply

Creole Cook,my "dough tray" is a family heirloom that belonged my great-grandmother Caroline...This little woman was all of 4'10'' tall ,was born in 1849 in Geneva County,Alabama,her father fought with General Lee in the Army of Northern Virginia,she survived Reconstruction,and thought that all the Yankees were "scallawags".When wheat flour was available again,that dough tray was busy making biscuits just the way I do with the exception of the self=rising flour...It wasn't invented yet. A dough tray is wooden and usually carved from oak or pecan wood.I think that mine is oak.Mine is about 24 inches long and 15 inches wide.It has a depression carved in the middle,almost like a bowl except more shallow.You put the flour in this depression.Make a "well" in the flour and add the lard and buttermilk.You then work the lard and buttermilk into the sides of the flour "well" with your fingers until you have a soft dough.You knead the dough just a few times LIGHTLY in the dough tray.Clean your fingers off.(Don't wear rings while you're doing this!)Then you pinch off biscuit-size pieces of dough and lightly roll into roll shaped balls .Put them in either a cast iron frying pan or do what I do.Use an old cast iron "biscuit pan" that's greased well with either peanut oil or best of all melted lard or bacon grease .Pat them down a little and put pats of butter on the tops.Bake for about 20-25 minutes at 425 degrees (preheated)until golden brown.I'm guessing at proportions here because this is a thing that is taught by word of mouth and by feel...Here it is though:About 2-2and one-half cups White Lilly Self-Rising FlourAbout one-fourth cup lardAbout one-half to three fourths cup buttermilk to make a soft,pliable doughpeanut oil,more lard or bacon grease to grease panreal butter to put on top before you bake the biscuitsI hope this helps...These are real,true Southern Alabama biscuits! ENJOY!!!

Creole Cook,my "dough tray" is a family heirloom that belonged my great-grandmother Caroline...This little woman was all of 4'10'' tall ,was born in 1849 in Geneva County,Alabama,her father fought with General Lee in the Army of Northern Virginia,she survived Reconstruction,and thought that all the Yankees were "scallawags".When wheat flour was available again,that dough tray was busy making biscuits just the way I do with the exception of the self=rising flour...It wasn't invented yet._______________________

Those sound like my Mama's scratch biscuits. My little sister was sort of a shock to some of us kids, especially my oldest Brother who'd just got out of the Navy. When Doc delivered Jan and checked Mom and little Sister he told Mom and Dad she was good to go to our New Braunfels, Texas deer camp for the season's opening weekend. Doc told Mom she'd just as well be there, because he sure would be, and he'd pack anything she or the baby needed. Mom shot a spike buck that weekend, we all enjoyed her good biscuits, gravy, and backstrap cooked in and on the wood stove, and little Sister survived and is a grandmother now herself.

Dickestep,when Daddy got venison for us or friends gave us some,Mama always made venison,gravy,grits and biscuits.It was so good.She did the same with squirrel and rabbit.And of course wonderful quail!

Dickestep,when Daddy got venison for us or friends gave us some,Mama always made venison,gravy,grits and biscuits.It was so good.She did the same with squirrel and rabbit.And of course wonderful quail!

I miss all those, but haven't hunted in years. I may have to go buy some quail.

OK. Biscuits, Yummy! I'm a native Tennessean retired and living in southern New Mexico. I've enjoyed biscuits in most the places mentioned, surprised me when I read the previous posts. Here's my thought. #1. At home or traveling ( cheap motel preferably), you will do fine with a little Country Ham, butter, preserves, toaster oven, ice chest, plastic knife and a bag of Pillsbury frozen biscuits.At home(with all the conveniences of an Applachian child) I normally make a little Red Eye or skillet flour gravy. #2. You're out of Country ham. That can happen out in this part of the country..... Well,using some readily availabe breakfast sausage, whip up a batch of stick to your ribs SAUSAGE GRAVY, cover them Pillsbury biscuits(cook first) pour yourself a good cup of coffee and enjoy one of the finer life experiences!rouxdog

My grandmother who was very Irish use to make a great cream of tartar bisciut always used buttermilk and lard from a pail. I know I have that recepie here somewhere, must find it and put on the rolladex for future refrence. Chow Jim

One of the best things to do with leftover biscuits is southern "biscuit pudding".It's just bread pudding that you substitute leftover crumbled biscuits for the bread.My family has made this recipe for generations.Another thing that children used to do with leftover morning biscuits for an afternoon snack was a " syrup jug " . We would make a hole in one end of a cold biscuit with our fingers and fill the hole with home made sugar cane syrup.Mama would also mix equal parts of sugar cane syrup and soft butter to serve with her hot biscuits.Heaven!One last thing she did for hot biscuits was to melt some butter and red rind grocery store cheddar cheese on a pie plate in the oven while the biscuits baked.When the biscuits were done,we'd put the "toasted cheese" and butter mixture over our split biscuits.They were soooo goood!

I wish that I ate cheese the way I did when I was a very young child...I can't stand it now as well as other dairy foods ...But,I cook with them for other folks and they seem to love these traditions...So sad !

I can eat cheese products incorporated into different dishes...Like a variation on my standard biscuit recipe.I add a cup of shredded cheddar and a half teaspoon cayenne pepper LIGHTLY mixed into the biscuit dough before I shape it...Bake as usual. Hot Cheddar-chile cornbread is another example,as well as casseroles or hors d'oerves...I think that I just don't like eating cheeses straight up or drinking milk for that matter...But,other folks sure love my other cheese dishes...Especially my homemade macaroni and cheese !

Creole Cook,my "dough tray" is a family heirloom that belonged my great-grandmother Caroline...This little woman was all of 4'10'' tall ,was born in 1849 in Geneva County,Alabama,her father fought with General Lee in the Army of Northern Virginia,she survived Reconstruction,and thought that all the Yankees were "scallawags".When wheat flour was available again,that dough tray was busy making biscuits just the way I do with the exception of the self=rising flour...It wasn't invented yet. A dough tray is wooden and usually carved from oak or pecan wood.I think that mine is oak.Mine is about 24 inches long and 15 inches wide.It has a depression carved in the middle,almost like a bowl except more shallow.You put the flour in this depression.Make a "well" in the flour and add the lard and buttermilk.You then work the lard and buttermilk into the sides of the flour "well" with your fingers until you have a soft dough.You knead the dough just a few times LIGHTLY in the dough tray.Clean your fingers off.(Don't wear rings while you're doing this!)Then you pinch off biscuit-size pieces of dough and lightly roll into roll shaped balls .Put them in either a cast iron frying pan or do what I do.Use an old cast iron "biscuit pan" that's greased well with either peanut oil or best of all melted lard or bacon grease .Pat them down a little and put pats of butter on the tops.Bake for about 20-25 minutes at 425 degrees (preheated)until golden brown.I'm guessing at proportions here because this is a thing that is taught by word of mouth and by feel...Here it is though:About 2-2and one-half cups White Lilly Self-Rising FlourAbout one-fourth cup lardAbout one-half to three fourths cup buttermilk to make a soft,pliable doughpeanut oil,more lard or bacon grease to grease panreal butter to put on top before you bake the biscuitsI hope this helps...These are real,true Southern Alabama biscuits! ENJOY!!!

WOW!

THANKS sooooooooooo much! Your family history on the dough tray is very interesting, and as a collector of old family items I know you treasure your grandmas dough tray.

You're very welcome CreoleCook.See my suggestions for leftover biscuits above in this thread. Also my Cheddar-cayenne pepper variation on my basic recipe.If I can help in any other way,please let me know.I would be happy to do so.Enjoy!

The best biscuits I have ever eaten were at Dotson's in Franklin, Tennessee. just south of Nashville. Their version of biscuits puts those offered by chain restaurants to shame. Soft, fluffy, with a lot of buttery flavor cooked into the bread. The taste from those biscuits has never left my memory. I ate there in the summers of 1992 and 1993 (thanks to the 1992 edition of Roadfood), and I assume they are as good now as they were then. Poverty Pete and Pogophiles would know. For those who will be in Nashville in April, give this place a try if Poverty Pete and Pogophiles give you the green light.

CreoleCook,Martha White and White Lilly Self-Rising Flours are by far the very best "soft-wheat" flours. And,in my opinion, they are without a doubt far superior to any other flours for making excellent homemade buttermilk biscuits.This is the humble opinion of an 11th generation Alabama biscuit maker with 49 of her 52 years biscuit-making experience !

CreoleCook,Martha White and White Lilly Self-Rising Flours are by far the very best "soft-wheat" flours. And,in my opinion, they are without a doubt far superior to any other flours for making excellent homemade buttermilk biscuits.This is the humble opinion of an 11th generation Alabama biscuit maker with 49 of her 52 years biscuit-making experience !

You've been listening to the Grand 'Ol Opry too long! You've been brainwashed by Martha White Commercials. I lived in Nashville for 4 years and used M. Whites products and I can tell you they suck compared to Pioneer Flour. If you never tried Pioneer, get some and you'll be a convert.

Foodbeme,I'm not a county music fan.Therefore,I don't listen to the Grand Ol' Opry.My family are incredibly excellent Southern bakers,especially biscuit bakers.I personally have been making homemade biscuits since I was a toddler of three,forty-nine years ago.In my experience of baking and consuming multitudes of great true Southern biscuits,Martha White and White Lilly flours have always produced consistently superb results...

You don't "rise" the dough like yeast rolls or bread...The self-rising flour has baking powder and baking soda in it.That and the interaction between the buttermilk and the baking soda in the flour make it rise in the hot oven.

It looks like you used too much buttermilk too.You want a soft PLIABLE dough.Not a WET one ...You are making hand rolled biscuits not DROP biscuits.Also,read the recipe more carefully...I'm so sorry but,I've never seen biscuits like that in my life!

Mike,this is the recipe that I offered earlier in the thread.I have used all my life.I have never had a failure like that the biscuits that you offered photos representing,even as a 3 year old baking with my mother.I'm sure that you didn't mean to be rude,but I think that you should have attributed your baking failure to the lack of Southern biscuit making expertise rather than using a rude and tasteless word as "sucked".If you were not fond of the recipe so be it.It wasn't necessary to say anything.Merely use a recipe that you are more familiar with or are more comfortable.But,as I mentioned earlier,you obviously didn't follow my recipe.If you had your biscuits would certainly not have looked like those biscuits.Those are certainly not the same thing as my biscuits .Here again is my age-old,tried and true biscuit recipe:

Creole Cook,my "dough tray" is a family heirloom that belonged my great-grandmother Caroline...This little woman was all of 4'10'' tall ,was born in 1849 in Geneva County,Alabama,her father fought with General Lee in the Army of Northern Virginia,she survived Reconstruction,and thought that all the Yankees were "scallawags".When wheat flour was available again,that dough tray was busy making biscuits just the way I do with the exception of the self=rising flour...It wasn't invented yet. A dough tray is wooden and usually carved from oak or pecan wood.I think that mine is oak.Mine is about 24 inches long and 15 inches wide.It has a depression carved in the middle,almost like a bowl except more shallow.You put the flour in this depression.Make a "well" in the flour and add the lard and buttermilk.You then work the lard and buttermilk into the sides of the flour "well" with your fingers until you have a soft dough.You knead the dough just a few times LIGHTLY in the dough tray.Clean your fingers off.(Don't wear rings while you're doing this!)Then you pinch off biscuit-size pieces of dough and lightly roll into roll shaped balls .Put them in either a cast iron frying pan or do what I do.Use an old cast iron "biscuit pan" that's greased well with either peanut oil or best of all melted lard or bacon grease .Pat them down a little and put pats of butter on the tops.Bake for about 20-25 minutes at 425 degrees (preheated)until golden brown.I'm guessing at proportions here because this is a thing that is taught by word of mouth and by feel...Here it is though:About 2-2and one-half cups White Lilly Self-Rising FlourAbout one-fourth cup lardAbout one-half to three fourths cup buttermilk to make a soft,pliable doughpeanut oil,more lard or bacon grease to grease panreal butter to put on top before you bake the biscuitsI hope this helps...These are real,true Southern Alabama biscuits! ENJOY!!!

Well fist of all get those biscuits off the foil. Use an UNgreased dark cookie sheet or tray. You can and obviously did drop the dough off a spoon, but the prefered method is to LIGHTY kneed the dough half a dozen times, let rest and roll out to desired thickness cut with a biscuit/ cookie cutter and place in preheated oven {middle rack}. Buttermilk if you run out, substitute plain yogurt or add lemmon juice or white vinegar to whole milk and let sit for a short time.I also find that it's not nesesarry to use self riseing flour. Do the soda and powder thing or cream of tartar. Cream of tartar makes for a lighter and higher rise bisciut. Chow Jim

I was just offering an authentic SOUTHERN biscuit recipe that my family had been making and adoring for at least 140 years...It is a technique and talent that has been passed down by word of mouth and by watching(as I did when Mama let me start helping make and PINCH,ROLL IN THE PALMS and bake the biscuit dough when I was just 3 years old) through generations of excellent southern cooks and bakers.

iqdiva, the statement was that these, the biscuits shown, sucked. It was all in MY total lack of having never made biscuits before. Nor much experience with dough either. Cornbread, cookies and cakes I make.

Didn't mean to insult your recipe. Sorry.

I was insulting my effort/failure.

I did use self rising flour but not White Lily.

Y'all talk about rolling/cutting. So I guess I roll the dough into a log shape and then cut it?

Quite alright Mike...Shaping:When I have lightly worked the lard and buttermilk into the flour in my dough tray ( or a mixing bowl if you don't have a dough tray )to a soft (not wet)dough,I knead it (again lightly because the two secrets of good biscuit making is to NOT overwork the dough and be sure to NOT add too much flour into the dough)3 or 4 turns right in the dough tray.Kneading on the counter or table top introduces too much flour into the dough and over works the dough.You want the dough to be just pliable enough to shape . Lightly flour your hands because the dough will be soft and slightly sticky.Pinch up pieces of the dough the size of a round dinner roll,about two or two and a half inches in diameter.Using your palms,shape into balls just as if you were making yeast rolls.Put in a heavily greased pan(I use a cast iron skillet or cast iron biscuit pan and use bacon grease or extra lard to grease the pan),with the balls just touching each other.After you get them in the pan,using your hands pat the tops of the biscuits down slightly.Dot them with butter (not margarine).Bake in a preheated 425 degree oven 20-25 minutes.Eat straight out of the oven while they're hot ! The secret to Southern biscuits is a light,light,light touch.Do not over work the dough or add too much flour.You do not roll the dough out...It will be over worked and you do not cut them out...Knead them Lightly in the dough tray or mixing bowl.Handle biscuit dough like you were handling a baby...With Love...Practice...It is well worth the effort to master the technique,because there is no biscuit in the country like a well prepared ,hot buttered SOUTHERN biscuit...It is a work of love and a piece of Southern kitchen art...